príncipe

Forms

príncipe m (plural príncipes)^[1] Old Galician-Portuguese wrote princepe, prince, prinçepe, prinçipe and priçipe.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin prīnceps (“first; leader, chief”), written Old Galician-Portuguese princepe and Old Galician-Portuguese prinçipe in the oldest texts.^[2][3][4][1] Nascentes and Aurélio think it came through Italian principe: the title of the leader of the Roman senate passed to the emperor, was later taken up by Italian feudal lords, and spread from Italy to other countries.^[5][6]

The same Latin word is Spanish príncipe, Catalan príncep and French prince.^[7][1]

The Latin word is contracted from *primiceps, from prīmus (“first”) and the root of capiō (“to take”), literally “who takes the first place”.^[2][8][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

A Latin charter of 1096 already calls the ruler Afonso principe.^[4] In the vernacular, the Crónica Geral says that someone era fillo do prinçepe and ffoy prinçipe muy manso “was a very gentle prince”, and the Crónica Troiana promises that each man sera princepe ou duque “will be a prince or duke”.^[4] In these texts the word means one of the great lords of a kingdom, a chief or a sovereign.^[4]

Semantic evolution

Houaiss dates the noun to the 13th century; the adjective “first, principal” survives in edição príncipe, the first edition of a work.^[2][9] Morais (1813) quotes an old chronicle saying that Afonso V was the first heir to the Portuguese throne called Príncipe, the earlier heirs having been called Infantes.^[10] Bluteau (1712–1728) explains that Princeps was once the title of the Roman emperor alone, and that kings and the lords of certain states were later called principes.^[11]

Figurative senses name the foremost member of a group, o príncipe dos poetas, and a man of refined manners.^[2][6] In Brazil príncipe is also a bird, the scarlet flycatcher Pyrocephalus rubinus.^[2][12]

Timeline

• 1096 – Afonso principe in a Latin charter.^[4]
• 13th century – the forms princepe and prince.^[2][3]
• 14th century – Cunha's date for the form príncipe.^[3]
• c. 1350 – princepe in the Trasladação de S. Nicolau (witness of the 14th century).^[13]
• 1491 – principe and prinçipe in the Vida de Santo Elói.^[14]
• 1611 – Barbosa translates Principe, ou princesa by Latin princeps.^[15]
• 1813 – Morais defines it as the king's son who is to succeed him.^[10]

Meanings

Noun

1. A son or member of a reigning family; prince.^[2][6][1]
2. The eldest son of a king, heir to the throne.^[2][9]
3. The ruler of a principality (principado).^[2][16]
4. (by extension) An autocratic ruler.^[2]
5. The husband of a reigning queen, in some monarchies;^[2][6] príncipe consorte.^[2][6]
6. A title of nobility in some countries.^[2][16]
7. (figurative) The foremost person in a class or field.^[2][16]
8. A man of fine, distinguished manners.^[2][6]
9. (Brazil) The scarlet flycatcher (Pyrocephalus rubinus), a small bird with a red head and underparts.^[2][12]

Adjective

1. First, principal: edição príncipe, the first edition of a work.^[2][9]

Word family

• principesco

Related words

• princesa
• principal
• princípio
• principado
• Latin prīnceps
• Spanish príncipe

Usage notes

Set phrases include príncipe das trevas “the devil”, príncipe encantado “Prince Charming” and príncipes da Igreja “cardinals and bishops”.^[2][16]

The island of Príncipe, in the Gulf of Guinea, was named after the Prince of Portugal.^[1] Houaiss also records Príncipes, a scientific name for an order of palms.^[2]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. príncipe
3. ^ a b c d Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. s.v. príncipe
4. ^ a b c d e f Instituto da Lingua Galega, Dicionario de dicionarios do galego medieval (DDGM), ed. Ernesto González Seoane, Santiago de Compostela: Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, https://ilg.usc.gal/ddgm, p. s.v. prinçipe
5. ^ Nascentes, Antenor (1966), Dicionário etimológico resumido, Rio de Janeiro: Instituto Nacional do Livro, p. s.v. príncipe
6. ^ a b c d e f Ferreira, Aurélio Buarque de Holanda, Novo dicionário Aurélio da língua portuguesa, digital edition, p. s.v. príncipe
7. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 6755
8. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. s.v. princeps
9. ^ a b c Academia das Ciências de Lisboa, Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, revised online edition (2023–) of the Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa Contemporânea (2001), https://dicionario.acad-ciencias.pt, p. s.v. príncipe
10. ^ a b Silva, António de Morais (1813), Diccionario da lingua portugueza, 2nd ed., 2 vols., Lisboa: Typographia Lacerdina, p. 2, 504
11. ^ Bluteau, Raphael (1712–1728), Vocabulario portuguez e latino, 8 vols. + 2 supplement vols., Coimbra / Lisboa (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. principe
12. ^ a b Schlee, Aldyr Garcia (2019), Dicionário da Cultura Pampeana Sul-Rio-Grandense, 2 vols., Pelotas: Fructos do Paiz, p. s.v. príncipe
13. ^ Centro de Linguística da Universidade de Lisboa, CTA – Corpus de Textos Antigos, https://teitok.clul.ul.pt/cta, p. s.v. princepe
14. ^ Centro de Linguística da Universidade de Lisboa, CTA – Corpus de Textos Antigos, https://teitok.clul.ul.pt/cta, p. s.v. principe
15. ^ Barbosa, Agostinho (1611), Dictionarium lusitanicolatinum, Braga: Fructuoso Lourenço de Basto (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. principe
16. ^ a b c d Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa, Lisboa: Priberam Informática, https://dicionario.priberam.org, p. s.v. príncipe